TMAP Printing Instructions

When you download your TMAP, you will find a ZIP file with a PDF and 4 (or more) SVG files. The SVG files are Tactile Map page, Print Map page, Tactile Legend page(s), Print Legend page(s). The PDF combines these SVGs to print on our embossers. TMAP files are designed to print on ViewPlus embossers, however they can also be printed on capsule paper (or Swell, PIAF, Zychem), or on Index. Results may vary.

TMAP files are intended for 2-in-1 printing, creating an embossed and ink-print document on a ViewPlus (or Tiger) embosser. ViewPlus embossers may incorrectly print braille from PDFs. To mitigate possible braille errors, complete the steps outlined below. This creates an additional PDF with fonts unembedded, filename ending with “_VP”, ready to emboss. (Please note, this step is only for embossing to ViewPlus, and is not necessary for Swell or capsule paper.)

  1. Download the PDF Unembed Fonts tool from the ViewPlus Downloads page (for Windows only).
  2. Run PDF Unembed Fonts (see sections below: with a mouse or in command line)
  3. Open the PDF with _VP in Adobe Acrobat or Reader. Send to printer. In print settings:
    • Check the Tiger tab to optimize results. Printing “draft” quality is not recommended. On ViewPlus Columbia/Delta or APH PixBlaster, Graphics Quality: Best.
    • Check that the paper size matches your TMAP file paper size.
    • Check that the paper orientation matches your embosser output.
  4. Important! If printing tactile-only (NOT using 2-in-1 printing), send odd-numbered pages only (1, 3, etc.).
  5. Print.

Running PDF Unembed Fonts with a Mouse

  1. Create a shortcut to the Unembed program on your desktop.
  2. Drag the PDF on top of the Unembed shortcut icon or browse to the file from the Unembed Fonts tool. This will create a new file with _VP at the end in the original folder.

Running PDFUnembedfonts in Command Line

  1. To ensure the shortest file path, after extracting it is recommended to copy the entire PDFUnembedFonts folder to the root of your C drive (or an external drive). For economy of file path it is further recommended that the PDF also reside in this folder.
  2. From the start menu, Search programs and files, type cmd. Hit Enter.
  3. To point it to the specific directory type cd space c:\pdfunembedfonts
  4. Now to actually run the script on your PDF type pdfunembedfonts space .\filename.pdf. Hit Enter.
  5. If all went well c:\pdfunembedfonts should now contain a version of your PDF, the file name appended with _VP

Though TMAP file can be printed on capsule paper, the braille font is not optimized for this method, and results may vary.

  1. Open the PDF (Adobe recommended). Send to printer. In print settings:
    • Check that the paper size matches your TMAP file paper size.
    • Check that the paper orientation matches your printer output.
    • Print at 100% or Actual Size. Do not “fit” or “shrink to fit”.
  2. Choose braille or large print map:
    • For a map with braille text, send odd-numbered pages only (1, 3, etc.).
    • For a map with large print text, send even-numbered pages only (2, 4, etc.).
  3. Print.

Related Pages: TMAP Main page, Frequently Asked Questions, How to Use TMAP to Make Maps, Reading Tactile Maps, Download Introduction to TMAP page